Two brothers went treat-or-tricking and collected some eggs. The elder said to his younger brother, “I will give you one dollar if you let me break three eggs on your head.” The little boy knew it was going to be a painful experience, but because he needed the dollar he agreed. The bigger boy then went on to break an egg on his brother’s head. His brother took it with an “Ouch!” Then he broke the second egg on his little brother’s head. This time it really hurt and his little brother cried out in pain. But the young lad was determined to get his dollar. So he braced himself for the third and last egg, but his senior brother walked away laughing. “Come on, bring on the third egg,” said the little boy. “Nope!” said the bigger brother, “I don’t want to lose my dollar.”
One could dismiss the story as kids playing pranks, but there is something more serious going on here. It is called breach of contract. We are talking about the sense of responsibility, the recognition that every privilege we enjoy comes with a price tag. Like the big brother in our story, some people go about trying to take advantage of others, of the society, and even of God. We see that in the parable of the rebellious farm managers in today’s gospel, who enjoy the benefits that accrue to them as managers but withhold the benefits that should go to the landowner.
The parable teaches us a lot about God and how God relates to us. First we see the PROVIDENCE of God. “There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower”(Matthew 21:33a). Before God entrusts a responsibility to you, He makes provision for all that you will need in carrying out the responsibility. “Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country” (verse 33b). This shows God’s TRUST in us. God does not stand looking over our shoulders, policing us to make sure we do the right thing. God leaves the job to us and goes on vacation to a far country. God trusts that we will do the right thing. Unfortunately many of us don’t.
The story also highlights God’s PATIENCE with us. God sends messenger after messenger to the rebellious managers who would not render to God what is His due. With each messenger, God provides another chance for us to put an end to rebellion and do the right thing. Finally there comes a last chance. God plays His trump card and sends His only son. If we miss this last chance, then we’ve missed it. In the end we see God’s JUDGMENT in which rebellious humanity lose their very lives and their privileges are transferred to others who are more promising. The picture is that of a providing, trusting, patient, but also just God.
From this we can learn a lot about ourselves and how we stand in relation to God. First we see human PRIVILEGE. Like the managers of the vineyard, everything we have is a privilege and not a merit. This is what we mean when we say that everything is God’s grace. Grace is unmerited favour. Another word for this is privilege. Life itself is a privilege which can be taken away from any of us at any time. Privilege comes, however, with RESPONSIBILITY. We are ultimately responsible and accountable to God for the way we use or abuse our God-given privileges. God has given us all we need to make a judicious use of all our privileges, yet we retain the ability to abuse it. This is called FREEDOM. When we accept our life as a gift from God and live it God's way we enter into a freedom that we could never gain by doing things our own way.
The vineyard we have here in America in particular entrusts us with profound freedom. We can shape our own culture and government. God asks us to bear fruits of life rather than to abuse our freedom with perversions of choice that end up taking life.
As we reflect upon LIFE this weekend we are continually confronted by these questions. “The most remarkable development of all is to be seen in man's stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces of nature to the point that he is endeavoring to extend this control over every aspect of his own life - over his body, over his mind and emotions, over his social life, and even over the laws that regulate the transmission of life" (HV #2). Let us remember always that Human life came from God, belongs to God and returns to God. We can see then, that the argument "This is my body, my life, my choice" is a faulty one, at best.
All human beings ought to value every person for his or her uniqueness as a creature of God, called to be a brother or sister of Christ by reason of the incarnation and the universal redemption. For us, the sacredness of human life is based on these premises. And it is on these same premises that there is based our celebration of life - all human life. This explains our efforts to defend life against every influence or action that threatens or weakens it, as well as endeavors to make every life more human in all its aspects." We cannot back down is defense of. There is a need now to stand up and announce to the world that we all have value.
October is observed as Respect for Life month. It is during this time of the year that we pause to consider how wonderful is the gift of life and how we ought to cherish that gift. Unfortunately, we live in a society that is very selfish and does not value life as it ought. We see this in the terrible scourge of abortion. We also see it in the devaluing of the lives of those who are infirm or aged. We see it even in the way people treat each other, oftentimes with an utter lack of respect for one’s person. People say and do hurtful things to others and think nothing of it. Unfortunately, this latter is not even recognized many times as not respecting life.
One could dismiss the story as kids playing pranks, but there is something more serious going on here. It is called breach of contract. We are talking about the sense of responsibility, the recognition that every privilege we enjoy comes with a price tag. Like the big brother in our story, some people go about trying to take advantage of others, of the society, and even of God. We see that in the parable of the rebellious farm managers in today’s gospel, who enjoy the benefits that accrue to them as managers but withhold the benefits that should go to the landowner.
The parable teaches us a lot about God and how God relates to us. First we see the PROVIDENCE of God. “There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower”(Matthew 21:33a). Before God entrusts a responsibility to you, He makes provision for all that you will need in carrying out the responsibility. “Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country” (verse 33b). This shows God’s TRUST in us. God does not stand looking over our shoulders, policing us to make sure we do the right thing. God leaves the job to us and goes on vacation to a far country. God trusts that we will do the right thing. Unfortunately many of us don’t.
The story also highlights God’s PATIENCE with us. God sends messenger after messenger to the rebellious managers who would not render to God what is His due. With each messenger, God provides another chance for us to put an end to rebellion and do the right thing. Finally there comes a last chance. God plays His trump card and sends His only son. If we miss this last chance, then we’ve missed it. In the end we see God’s JUDGMENT in which rebellious humanity lose their very lives and their privileges are transferred to others who are more promising. The picture is that of a providing, trusting, patient, but also just God.
From this we can learn a lot about ourselves and how we stand in relation to God. First we see human PRIVILEGE. Like the managers of the vineyard, everything we have is a privilege and not a merit. This is what we mean when we say that everything is God’s grace. Grace is unmerited favour. Another word for this is privilege. Life itself is a privilege which can be taken away from any of us at any time. Privilege comes, however, with RESPONSIBILITY. We are ultimately responsible and accountable to God for the way we use or abuse our God-given privileges. God has given us all we need to make a judicious use of all our privileges, yet we retain the ability to abuse it. This is called FREEDOM. When we accept our life as a gift from God and live it God's way we enter into a freedom that we could never gain by doing things our own way.
The vineyard we have here in America in particular entrusts us with profound freedom. We can shape our own culture and government. God asks us to bear fruits of life rather than to abuse our freedom with perversions of choice that end up taking life.
As we reflect upon LIFE this weekend we are continually confronted by these questions. “The most remarkable development of all is to be seen in man's stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces of nature to the point that he is endeavoring to extend this control over every aspect of his own life - over his body, over his mind and emotions, over his social life, and even over the laws that regulate the transmission of life" (HV #2). Let us remember always that Human life came from God, belongs to God and returns to God. We can see then, that the argument "This is my body, my life, my choice" is a faulty one, at best.
All human beings ought to value every person for his or her uniqueness as a creature of God, called to be a brother or sister of Christ by reason of the incarnation and the universal redemption. For us, the sacredness of human life is based on these premises. And it is on these same premises that there is based our celebration of life - all human life. This explains our efforts to defend life against every influence or action that threatens or weakens it, as well as endeavors to make every life more human in all its aspects." We cannot back down is defense of. There is a need now to stand up and announce to the world that we all have value.
October is observed as Respect for Life month. It is during this time of the year that we pause to consider how wonderful is the gift of life and how we ought to cherish that gift. Unfortunately, we live in a society that is very selfish and does not value life as it ought. We see this in the terrible scourge of abortion. We also see it in the devaluing of the lives of those who are infirm or aged. We see it even in the way people treat each other, oftentimes with an utter lack of respect for one’s person. People say and do hurtful things to others and think nothing of it. Unfortunately, this latter is not even recognized many times as not respecting life.
We are called as followers of Jesus Christ to change our culture of death into a culture of life. We are called to stand up and be counted. We are called to value life at all its stages and all its circumstances as a tremendous gift from God. We can begin by treating each other with love and respect, by truly caring about one another, by demonstrating a genuine concern for each other’s welfare.
Thirty years ago, the Supreme Court legalized abortion on demand. Today we’re living with the consequences. Today we can thank Roe v Wade for the killing of 40 million unborn children; tens of thousands of broken marriages; and hundreds of thousands of emotionally damaged women and men.
But those are just the obvious results. There’s much more ahead, because we’re becoming a nation that no longer remembers the words to explain why things like cloning, infanticide and physician-assisted suicide violate the sanctity of life. We’ve forgotten the language of right and wrong on exactly those issues that define what it means to be human.
Whenever I begin to think that 30 years is a long time to struggle about an issue, I remember a fresco of the Eucharist painted on the wall of a catacomb beneath the streets of Rome. It’s one of the earliest examples of Christian art we have, and it was done in secret nearly 200 years before the persecution of the Gospel ended.
The early Christians trusted in God despite generations of persecution. They kept the faith, despite the cost of their own suffering, and their confidence wasn’t in vain. If God can convert the heart of Rome, He can convert the heart of the Supreme Court, and He can light the darkness in the American soul.
In our work for the unborn, in our witness for the sanctity of life, in our worship in this Mass today, and in the public march that follows it, Jesus is saying, “Follow me.” How could we not say yes, when our answer decides everything.
In today's Gospel we see what happens when greedy tenants want to take what is not theirs. Even human life is taken in order for them to get what they want. Because of that, our Gospel says, "Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."
When the Prince of Darkness would deceive us with his dark and deadly lies, we deserve better. We deserve the truth of the Gospel of Life.
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